Use a t-shirt to dry and other great #washday tips for your natural hair

By Buhle Mbete

21 August 2018

These four steps and hacks will ensure washing your natural hair at home is nothing but a breeze.

Step 1: Rinse and shampoo

Depending on how dirty your hair is, start by rinsing it to remove any residue dust or dirt. Then apply a sulphate-free shampoo of your choice onto the hair and scalp.

Use your fingers, not your nails as they may scratch and damage the scalp, to work the shampoo into lather. Gently massage the scalp, focusing on any itchy areas. Rinse and repeat the process, until the hair is clean.

Step 2: Condition

It’s important to include a conditioner in your #washday routine. Apply a generous amount of conditioner after shampooing the hair because shampoo can strip the hair of its natural oils, leaving the hair brittle and prone to breakage. Conditioner restores moisture in the hair, makes it softer and improves its elasticity.

Note: Conditioner is just as important for those with relaxed hair. Although natural hair tends to be drier, the chemical in relaxers can also strip the hair of its natural oils.

Step 3: Detangle

Natural hair is fragile, and detangling while it’s dry may cause damage. After applying conditioner, divide your hair into four, six or eight sections depending on how long and thick it is. This will ensure the whole head is tangle-free.

After sectioning the hair, start from the ends and work your way up. Focusing on one area at a time, gently detangle the hair using your fingers first. Work your way up from the tip to the root and not the other way around – this is the most important step in detangling the hair. Then detangle the hair with an afro comb.

Once the ends of the hair are detangled, begin detangling an inch above. Keep going until you get to the roots and the entire section is detangled.

Step 4: Skip the towel dry

Once you’ve washed, conditioned and detangled the hair, we recommend you dry it using an old cotton t-shirt. Towels can be very drying to the hair and can cause friction and breakage.